LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining has achieved commercial production at the Mara Rosa gold mine in Brazil, a "significant milestone" that has been hit ahead of schedule.

The mine, which is Hochschild's first in Brazil and located in Goias, is a "key growth opportunity" for the firm, as it delivers production as significantly lower cost with the potential to provide additional resourcing through a brownfield exploration programme.

"Achieving commercial production at Mara Rosa is a significant milestone for Hochschild and has been delivered ahead of our end H1 2024 forecast," said chief executive Eduardo Landin.

"This brings a new jurisdiction to the company and provides a springboard for further low-cost growth in Brazil."

Hochschild recently announced the securing of an option to buy the Monte Do Carmo gold project from Cerrado Gold in the Tocantins state, which it says has a compelling cost profile.

So far this month, the Mara Rosa processing plant operated at an average throughput of approximately 90% of its name-plate capacity of 7,000 tonnes per day and exceeded 80% average recoveries.

The ramp-up is on schedule to be completed in H1 and gold production is expected to continue to increase in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. Hochschild expects the mine to produce between 83,000 to 93,000 ounces of gold this year.

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